


Rest for the Time, Rest of my Life

by Anasten27



Series: Of Windy Days at the Ocean [15]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Post-Canon, Teenagers trying to figure their lives out, Training, give them a break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 16:16:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20530898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anasten27/pseuds/Anasten27
Summary: Ven is so tired of fighting...





	Rest for the Time, Rest of my Life

He grunted as his weapon clashed with his opponent's— his arms shook under the pressure. He licked his lips, tasting salt. Jumping back, he threw his blade forwards, enveloping it in wind. It flew towards his target, who was able to dodge the incoming attacks despite it coming back at least five more times before returning to its owner.

He huffed, brows furrowed and nose twitching, wheels turning in his head. He quickly scanned the room, but there was nothing that could really help him turn the tables. 

_Basic combo it is then. _

He tightened his grip on his weapon—his throat felt so dry.

He ran—legs burning—raising his keyblade to strike—arm so tired—stepping to the side at the last second to try to surprise his opponent. But she knew him too well; there wasn't much he could surprise her with. She blocked his swings, retaliating with a Blizzaga spell followed by a quick Thundara. 

He managed to avoid the chunks of ice directed at him, but had no such luck with the bolts of lightning that coursed through his body.

His muscles spasmed, his knees buckling, hand opening up and making him drop his blade. He fell to the ground, barely catching himself with his forearms.

Closing his eyes, he lowered himself the rest of the way, laying on the ground as he caught his breath.

The only thing that could be heard in the room was their heavy breathing. Ventus stayed on the ground, unmoving except for the rise and fall of his chest.

Aqua remained in position, unsure if he would get up or not, if she should ready another spell or drop her stance.

She heard him muttering something under his breath, but couldn't catch exactly what he had said. It definitely wasn't some form of Cure, he would've been surrounded by the soft greenish glow of the healing magic. So she lowered her keyblade and asked him to repeat himself.

"I'm done," he panted as he struggled to sit up.

"Oh, alright, we can take a break and continue lat—"

"No." He shook his head "I'm done with training."

"Oh, okay. So tomorrow perhaps?" She dismissed her keyblade.

"No. Not tomorrow. Not ever. I'm done!"

"Not ev—? What do you mean?"

"It's pointless!" He exclaimed, voice hoarse. "All of this training is pointless! All of this hard work for what? A _title_? I don't need to be called a Master to know I'm good enough to defend myself with a keyblade."

He rubbed his eyes, wiping away tears that hadn't fully formed yet.

"Probably no one out there even knows how to properly combat anyone! We mostly just encounter monsters who fight by instinct alone!" He rambled on. "I've survived just fine with what I've got, I can keep learning on the run if I need to, but I certainly don't need an empty title to tell me who I am."

She frowned, placing a hand over her heart, as silence fell between them. How long had he been feeling like this? How long had he kept his discomfort for himself as he studied and trained without any more purpose than to fulfill what was expected of him?

"Where's this all coming from?" She sat down down beside him.

"I just... I'm so tired of fighting..." He looked up at her with watery eyes. "When is this ever going to be over? If I become a Master, what then? What's next? Just keep on fighting for my life over and over again? Teach other people to fight for their lives?"

"I don't know... I assumed you wanted to be able to do the same thing as me and Terra. We always planned on getting our own students someday too and... And it's not really about fighting, but about protecting others." She sighed, leaning back on her hands and looking up at the stained glass that let sunlight come in as streams of color.

"I guess I thought we could just... pick up where we left off. But life and circumstances can change our dreams..." She guessed it was a little silly to think everything could go back to being exactly the way it was.

He didn't say anything. 

"Do you really feel this way? You don't want to finish your training anymore?"

"...I don't know." He ran a hand down his face, his eyes staying fixated on the ground. "Maybe I'm just tired and frustrated right now, but I've been thinking about it lately. I don't feel that same desire to be a Master anymore." His voice cracked a little at the end.

"Then... I think we should take a break, so you can really think about it and..." She placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked up. "And if you decide that you don't want to continue, that's okay. We'll be beside you to help you find your new dream and fulfill it... if you'd let us, of course."

"Really? Can we really stop?"

"Yes, we can rest for a while. We'll figure this out eventually."

"Okay." He said, voice trembling as tears started streaming down his face. He tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming as he sobbed. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize, it's okay." She scooted closed, taking him in her arms, running her fingers through his hair to help him calm down. "People change, _dreams_ change, and that's fine. You're allowed to think and choose differently. You're young—we all are—we still need some time to figure everything out."

He nodded, softly whimpering thank you over and over again as she held him. She whispered calming words as she kissed his forehead, patiently waiting for him to let it all out.

Minutes passed as his sobs became sniffles and his sniffles turned into silence. He stayed there, leaning against her, his eyes unfocused as she kept petting his head.

"Do you want something to eat?" She asked softly brushing away some strands of hair that fell on his face. He shook his head. "Something to drink?"

He shook his head again. He looked so tired...

"How about a nap? Do you want to go take a nap?"

He stayed still for a second before he nodded. She couldn't help but smile at that.

"Alright then." She faced her back to him and guided his arms around her neck. "Hold on tight."

Aqua stood up slowly and secured her friend's legs around her torso. She started walking over to his room, carrying him on her back. A strange feeling almost overwhelmed her at the familiar weight on her shoulders. She closed her eyes for a second; it seemed like such a far off dream now, the day she had carried him to safety unsure how long it would be until she was back.

But it was different now. They were safe already, Ven's heart was with him and Terra was himself again. They were together again.

She reached his room, opening the door and pushing it open with her foot. Carefully, she lowered him down on his mattress. She helped him take off his metal shoes and covered him with a blanket.

Sitting down on the side of his bed, she ran a hand through his hair one last time. "Forget about everything and rest for a little while. We can talk and figure all of this out later," she spoke in a low voice.

She stood to leave, but was stopped by his hand holding hers. She looked down and found his bright blue eyes open again.

"Thank you, Aqua. For everything."

"Of course. You're my family, I'd do anything for you. Just like I know you'd do for me."

He smiled, closed his eyes and let her go.

"Sweet dreams." She whispered and closed the door behind her.

She leaned against the outside of his door, a small frown on her face. As much as she put up a brave face for everyone she was a bit lost.

She couldn't believe he really thought this way, but she couldn't blame him either. After all the suffering they had gone through, it wasn't strange that he wouldn't want to keep practicing something so closely related to that.

What would happen now? If their dreams went such different ways, could they all still stay together?

Yes. Yes they could and if anyone or anything tried to keep them apart then they would do everything in their power to stay with each other.

But like she said, they'd figure it out together later. Right now she'd worry about the present, like what they would eat for later. She sighed, pushed away from the door and walked to Terra's room; there was no way she was cooking alone today.

"Ven, dinner's ready. Come out to eat." Terra knocked his knuckles against wood again. Was he still asleep?

He opened the door, making sure it made no squeaky noises in case that his friend was still taking that nap of his.

But the room was empty and the bed made, as if no one had used it all day.

He noticed a small note on the top of the pillow and swiftly picked it up.

"Back soon.  
—Ven"

**Author's Note:**

> :^)


End file.
